3am -- Fifteen men posing as army officers enter a military outpost in
Banding
along the East-West Highway in three green 4WD vehicles, and took 17 M16
rifles, more than 6,000 bullets, two Steyr rifles and several other weapons.

4.15am -- They proceed to the 304th Infantry Battalion Camp in Grik and grab
more than 80 M16 rifles, thousands of bullets and other weapons including
Steyr
rifles.

July 3, MONDAY

A Kampung Jenalik villager who is on his way to his orchard chances upon the
impostors' camp and reports the sighting to see if it is a military
exercise.

Police cordon off the orchard and jungle in the vicinity of the village.

Two policemen and an orchard owner are taken hostage by the gunmen.

July 4, TUESDAY

2am to 11am -- Sporadic firing by the gang injuring a soldier.

About 2,000 soldiers and policemen proceed into the orchards and jungle of
the
village (Kampung Jenalik ) behind SK Jenalik and force the group to retreat.

July 5, WEDNESDAY

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai says a member of the group,
who
was trying to escape, was shot at when he refused to give up or retreat when
ordered by the police at 10.30am.

Norian announces that a Malaysian Muslim deviationist group practising ilmu
batin (mystical powers) and with political motive was behind the heist.

Group carries out sporadic shooting to lift their spirits.

LATEST: July 6

Arms heist drama over; 27
surrender, 2 hostages killed

KUALA KANGSAR: All 27 men from the deviationist group holed up in the Bukit
Hijau Forest Reserve in Sauk, 23km from here, surrendered Thursday, ending
the
108-hour drama which began early Sunday morning in Grik.

At the end of the five-day stand-off, three people -- two hostages and a
member of
the gang -- were killed and five others also from the group were injured.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the gang's leader Amin Mohd
Razak, 30, a former private from the army's special intelligence regiment,
was
detained after a struggle with Army Field Commander Lt Jen Datuk Zaini Mohd
Said at their hideout in the hills at about 4pm.

The five injured, including two in serious condition, were admitted to the
Ipoh
Hospital and Kuala Kangsar Hospital.

"I commend the army and the police for their joint operation which resulted
in all
the stolen weapons being recovered and there is now no danger to the
public,'' he
told a press conference at the Kati police station at 5.35pm.

In the arms heist on Sunday, 15 men posing as army officers struck two army
installations in Grik and escaped with more than 100 M16s, automatic weapons
and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Najib said the victory was due to the authorities' use of "minimum force and
escalation of activities'' which had forced the group to surrender.

Najib said the gang had killed two of the four hostages--Det Kpl K.
Sagathevan,
30, of Kuala Kangsar special branch and private Tupa Mattew a/k Medan, 25,
an
army ranger.

He also said gang member Abdul Halim Ali alias Ahmad, 30, was killed but
details of when or how he died were not available.

Najib said the dead hostages were buried by the gunmen at site, adding that
the
bodies would be exhumed soon.

"The policeman who was taken captive on Monday was killed in a cruel and
cold-blooded manner while the ranger who was taken captive on Tuesday was
tortured mercilessly.

"They shot his legs repeatedly before they finally shot him dead,'' he said.

He said two other hostages who were rescued were Kpl Mohd Shah Ahmad, 48,
of the Kuala Kangsar Special branch and durian farmer Jafar Puteh.

Najib said the move to use the gang's family members to appeal to them to
surrender had paid off.

"Two men surrendered between 6.30am and 7am while several surrendered about
five hours later,'' he said.

He said a remnant hardcore group comprising 16 members refused to surrender
forcing the army to send a 43-member anti-terrorist assault team comprising
commandos headed by Zaini to confront them.

Najib said Amin had wanted the army chief to go over personally but the
authorities refused, saying that Zaini was in charge on the field.

While Zaini was talking to Amin, he tried to shoot him with his M20 gun,
said
Najib, adding that the shot however was deflected and hit one of the gang
members instead.

"Zaini overpowered Amin and the army team moved in before the other gang
members, armed with guns and parangs could retaliate, forcing them to
surrender,'' he said.

Najib commended Zaini's courage and his willingness to risk his life to end
the
stand-off.

He said Amin's probable motive in resisting surrender was to "take out'' a
general
before he went down.

Asked about the group's motive, Najib said the members were misled by Amin's
spiritual teachings and mystical knowledge.

"They had the wrong belief that Amin's quest was related to jihad (holy
war),
although it was obvious that they wanted to create chaos and violence.

"They were carried away by notions of an Islamic state and things like
that,'' he
said.

Najib said Islam did not allow its followers to kill people or steal weapons
and this
"is not the face of Islam we want to show.''

On the background of the gang members, Najib said Amin had managed to win
over the members with his training in the army's intelligence unit,
convincing them
to accept him as a "mahaguru.''

Other key leaders in the gang were a retired warrant officer only identified
as
Ibrahim from the Ranger corps and Kapten Jamaludin Darus who was still
attached to the Butterworth RMAF maintenance unit.

Najib said these were the three people identified so far, adding that the
rest of
them did not have any army training and were probabaly holding a gun for the
first
time.

Norian said police had yet to decide if the 27 would be held under the
Internal
Security Act.

"They have committed a lot of offences, including robbery and murder which
can
go under the Arms (Increased Penalties) Act and Penal Code,'' he said.

"It all depends on how much evidence we can gather but for the purpose of
investigation we will classify the offences under various laws, namely the
Penal
Code and the Arms (Increased Penalties) Act.

Asked if they would face the mandatory death sentence for the crimes
committed, he said: "It depended on which section they would be charged.
They
are certain sections which carry the death penalty and there are certain
sections
which carry life imprisonment.

"It depends on the evidence and the roles played by each one of them,'' he
told
reporters at the packed press conference.

On whether the gang had a big following nationwide, Norian said: "There are
hundreds of people nationwide affiliated to the gang.''

The police were in the process of identifying the others and there would be
more
arrests soon, he said.

Asked if the widespread membership of the gang nationwide could pose a
national threat, he said: "It is too early to say.''

"Photographs on the group's website showed group members placing their hands in a wok of hot oil as part of an endurance test. The martial arts training focuses on basic calisthenics and breathing techniques, which are used to harness what is described as an internal force in the body. Once this power is awakened, members believe they can freeze an enemy on the spot or hypnotize a violent aggressor."